Li Ning’s first-quarter update exposed a gap between the brand’s recovery pace and market expectations. Adult retail sell-through improved from a Q4 2025 decline but underperformed forecasts, while the kidswear segment and reiterated full-year guidance offered the clearest positives.
1. Back to growth, but it underwhelmed. Adult sell-through returned to mid-single digit growth after a low-single digit decline in late 2025, but results landed at the low end of expectations and the stock fell 3.7% in Hong Kong.
2. Kidswear is carrying the quarter. Li Ning YOUNG grew 20%+ year-on-year, lifting total platform sell-through into high-single digits.
3. Promotions are getting heavier. Discounting deepened by low-single digit percentage points versus last year, and management said the pattern has continued into April.
4. Adults still lag domestic peers. The adult business trailed rivals such as Anta (high-single digit), Fila (low-teens), and Xtep (low-single digit), highlighting uneven demand across channels.
5. Stores edged down, guidance unchanged. China store count (ex-YOUNG) slipped to 6,075, and full-year 2026 guidance was maintained: high-single digit revenue growth and a high-single digit net profit margin.
